What's The Role?

In Gustave Flaubert’s A Simple Heart the style involved is everything but simple. His excessive description is neatly calibrated through meticulous meanings as to render a special purpose for every word. It is not remarkably small in its length, but in it we find only that which is invaluable for the meaning of the text: nothing exceeds the purpose. The description is taken far beyond the normal, to the point it describes every aspect possible of things that otherwise would go unnoticed, giving them some importance in describing a story not their own. Whenever Flaubert describes something, which is often, he does it with precise wording and intentions: he does it to describe the situation and the characters beyond the object itself.

His sentences are elegantly structured, almost to the title of perfection. Take one of his descriptions, for example: “Behind her, in a cloud of dust and impelled by the steep incline, a mail-coach drawn by galloping horses advanced like a whirlwind (Chapter IV).” As you read through the previous, you can’t help but notice every single word, for none of them share meaning with another, each giving a specific addition to the description. It is so concise and to the point, but yet so vivid. The sentence describes the incline, the horses, her position and the coach, everything in such perfection, making out of the simple sentence a true experience.

If we divert a little from only style, and consider a small sample of context, we are able to understand the effect of the first on the previous. Flaubert’s text narrates a very simple story where not much happens. Felicite has had a life of hardships only to encounter many more, making out of her name an irony. As you can see, the text is simply a narration of the life story of a simple individual, which lends itself for a very boring story. That’s when Falubert’s style kicks in to make it bearable, adding visualization and much imagery into the narration, giving such a shallow story purpose. The story, then, becomes but the means to exhibit style, Flaubert’s style, a masterpiece style.